Welcome back, Mrs Harte!
Oh, have I been away?
- Charming scarf. - Thank you.
From spring/summer? Yes?
And just perfect with those boots.
Now, my Sitex presentation at 11, yes?
Oh, Paula's taken that on.
Her last one was a triumph. They sent her cookies.
Grandy...
No need for big speeches, thank you.
You know, I have apologised a million times,
and there's no-one in the whole world I admire more than you.
Oh, you are doing the speech, are you?
Are you hoping I'll send you biscuits?
Grandy, you have to listen to me.
They know.
They all know you've been ill.
Some source at the hospital.
They're gathering the board in London next Monday.
They told everyone that you've been ill,
and I'm afraid...
they've got the votes.
They're going to oust you.
Harte Enterprises, Sitex...
It's all to be taken from you and put in their names.
- Edwina? - Yes.
Along with Uncle Kit, Uncle Robin and Aunt Elizabeth.
I'm so sorry.
What can I do?
I see you've been dabbling in Lycra.
Oh, our new leisurewear range.
You'll hate it, I'm sure, but I'm...
I'm convinced it's the next big thing.
Well...
looks very... comfortable.
Zip fastening on the side would improve the lines.
Leave me, would you, Paula? I'm suddenly very tired.
Henry, it's Emma.
I've decided I would like to go ahead.
Yes, please.
And we're to be certain it's absolutely watertight.
Thank you.
My birthday?
Oh, not a thing, I imagine.
What use are birthdays?
? Happy birthday to you
? Happy birthday, dear Kit
? Happy birthday to you! ?
- Right. Who wants a slice? - Me!
- Yes, please.
This is madness.
Pretending everything's fine?
Throwing a party when we all know
war could be declared any second?
We'll be waiting either way.
Might as well eat cake while we're doing it.
Mac, business has been slowing down for months.
I've had to take out loans.
What does Joe say?
Emma...
- You haven't told him? - He won't hear it.
He's convinced himself war won't happen.
- Well, maybe he's right. - He's not.
I need a plan.
Never met a problem that can't be solved
with an Emma Harte plan.
Emma!
Mac! Family photograph. Everyone in!
Come on.
Come on. Put your arm around your wife, man.
*CREDITS*
Excuse me. Sorry.
_
Did you see? The government's going to be accepting bids
for uniform manufacturers.
This is it, Mac. This is how we're going to survive it.
Now, I know what you're thinking.
Why would they award a contract
to someone who's made their name in ladieswear,
especially a woman? But I think...
So you're going to start manufacturing the material
before you've even won the contract?
To make sure I win the contract.
- They can't say no, can they? - Yeah, but the cost of it...
It's a risk. I know it is.
But the only way I can make it work is...
if I sell the shops.
No. You built those with your own blood, sweat and tears.
You can't just give them up.
If I don't do something drastic,
the debt collectors will take them anyway.
You don't think I can do it?
I think you can do anything, Emma.
What can I do to help?
- Goodnight. - Thanks.
Ah! What a blessing, being able to have breakfast together again.
Both of us. With our wives.
So you've settled back into your old room, have you?
Yes. Fine, thank you.
Well, we do appreciate you giving up the house.
- Don't we, Adam? - Yes.
And once finances are back on track,
we'll find you a new place.
That might not be necessary.
I'm signing up.
Ladies, would you leave us for a moment, please?
Of course.
I thought you'd be pleased.
You never pass up the opportunity
to speak about your days at Sandhurst.
If I thought this was in any way an honourable war,
I'd be commending your bravery.
But it isn't ours to fight.
Asquith is leading our soldiers to catastrophe.
Only a fool would volunteer.
Then I suppose I'm a fool.
You do remember we own a newspaper?
Yes?
It's the one thing people will still be buying, Edwin.
Do you have any idea how close we are to losing this house?
You'll manage without me.
Why?
Why are you so set on this?
It's the only way to make it stop.
What are you talking about?
Emma Harte.
Emma Harte?
What has that damn girl done now?
It's what I did to her, Father.
That's the why.
Emma Harte is hellbent on destroying us.
It's why she took our mill.
She's punishing me. And she won't give up
until I've suffered as much as she has.
So this is, what?
A suicide mission?
What could you have possibly done that is so terrible
you'll risk your life as recompense?
What?
Emma and I were...
involved romantically.
I'm... sorry, Father.
She... She fell pregnant and I-I panicked.
Took no responsibility.
All but sent her away entirely alone.
And?
What were you supposed to do?
Marry her?
Did you not just hear what I said about...?
Oh, yes. Yes.
Gerald told me years ago there was a child.
You... You knew?
And you're not angry?
Well, it's not ideal, obviously...
but boys will be boys, needs must be met.
And inevitably, the sort of girls who are willing
are only going to be found in the servants' quarters.
That...
Not with Emma.
- It was... - What?
Love?
More than love. It... It was everything.
Whatever silly infatuation you think you had, Edwin,
it hardly justifies traipsing off to France
with the very real possibility you won't return.
I understand the risks. It's what I have to do.
And I'm sorry, Father...
You won't change my mind.
Morning, everyone. Now, I know this is an uncertain
and anxious time for us all,
so I'll get straight to the point.
From today,
my mills and the factory will halt production
on the usual Harte fabrics and designs
to produce only a durable wool for military uniforms,
which we'll eventually be making on an exclusive basis
for the duration of the war.
Unfortunately, this will mean
the closing and sale of my shops.
But please don't worry. None of you will be out of work.
You're all needed elsewhere.
Those of you who wish to volunteer,
I will continue to pay your wages to your families.
Then, when you return,
your jobs will be here waiting for you.
While you're out there fighting to protect our future,
we'll be doing everything we can to protect yours.
- Are there any questions? - Yes.
I have a few.
- You're selling my shops? - I'm selling MY shops.
I bought them from you at full price.
The deeds are in my name.
I don't care about the deeds, Emma.
These shops belonged to my father.
If you pull the wallpaper down in that corner,
you'll see where my mother marked my height every birthday!
Those memories will still exist,
with or without these buildings.
Perhaps you don't understand
what a precarious position we're in.
Who is this "we"? You talk like we're a team,
but you didn't think to ask, or even tell me
that you're selling my father's legacy!
These are not normal times.
Wouldn't your father want you to do what's needed to survive?
Or maybe that's the problem.
Survival isn't something you've ever had to think about before.
What's that supposed to mean?
These shops were handed to you,
just like everything else in your life.
That doesn't mean I didn't work hard.
Can't you just trust that I have explored every option,
and this is the one that'll see our family
through this wretched war?
Do you have so little faith in me?
No, that's not fair. And you know it.
I had faith in you the second I saw you.
I gave you a job, remember?
And less than a year, I let you a shop and then another...
Emma.
I don't think there's anybody in this world
who has more faith in you than I do!
Mac had no doubts. Not one.
Laura, please.
I said I didn't want...
Laura. Laura!
Emma, talk some sense into him, please. He'll listen to you.
- What's going on? - He's signing up.
Sacrificing himself for a country
- that's not even his! - Laura!
My husband's gonna give his life for the whim
of a government who won't give women the vote,
and I'm supposed to just accept it?
It does seem a bit rash, Mac.
It's early days.
I'm not doing this for the government or the King.
Can't you see?
If we don't go over there and stop the Germans,
they'll bring the fight to us.
There's no doubt it'll reach these shores.
That'd take months, years.
The war will be over by Christmas.
And what if it's not?
I can't sit here waiting for them to come to us.
I have to do this.
To keep you safe.
But we don't want you to.
Do we, Emma? Tell him.
He's right.
We have to do what we can, no matter how risky.
It scares me. Of course it does.
I couldn't bear the thought...
But we can't be ruled by fear.
This is bigger than all of us.
We've got good lives that we've worked hard for,
people to protect.
If we don't fight tooth and nail in whatever way we can,
God knows what that'll mean for our children.
Doing nothing,
isn't that the biggest risk of all?
Be with you in just a second.
Feel free to browse.
There she is.
Emma Harte.
Look at you.
How far you've come.
You should know that Edwin told me everything.
He's got it into his head that he has to, um...
He's, uh...
Oh, he's volunteering... to fight.
Punishing himself for what happened
between the pair of you.
Now, if what Edwin says is true
and your feelings for each other were, in fact, genuine,
then... I'm sure you don't want his life at risk
any more than I do.
So... I thought you could write him a letter...
saying that you forgive him,
absolving him.
Maybe, just maybe, he'll see sense.
No.
No?
A word you're unfamiliar with, Squire?
I'm not as well read as you,
but I believe if you look it up in the dictionary,
it means there'll be a cold day in hell
before I do any such thing.
Emma...
my son could die.
And that has absolutely nothing to do with me.
Oh, you used to remind me so much of your mother.
But I can see now you're quite different.
What do you know about my mother?
Oh, she didn't tell you?
Elizabeth she used to serve our family, much like you did.
I was very fond of her.
You're lying.
We spent a wonderful summer together, out on the moors,
in the caves, on top of the world.
Only... she was able to see our time together for what it was.
She didn't bear a grudge.
And I'm asking you to do the same.
Find it in your heart to forgive.
I think it's what your mother would want.
Well, why didn't you help her?
She could have lived.
If we could have got a doctor to see her
to give her medicine...
You could have paid for that.
I, uh...
My father ran into a burning building to save your son.
He gave his life for him.
You wouldn't even give one penny for my mother's!
That's hardly fair.
No such thing as fair! Not in this world.
Though I see why you believe in it -
since every coin you've ever tossed has landed heads up.
But that is just luck.
All I'm trying to do is protect my child.
Edwin is a grown man
who is choosing to put himself in the line of fire!
My mother never had a choice her whole life!
- No need to get upset. - Oh, I'm not upset!
I am burning with rage!
And that will never change!
You, your sons, your wife, you destroyed my family!
And you can be quite sure, I will not rest
until I've destroyed yours!
I'll be up soon.
It's already morning.
Been here all night?
I'm sorry.
I've been thinking.
And we need to give ourselves the best possible chance
of winning the military uniform contract.
So that's why I think...
you should do the presentation.
- What? - Perform it, I mean.
I'll write it. Or we can write it together.
And practise it over and over until you know it
- back to front. - Emma...
I know you're angry with me about the shops,
but this is for our family, for the children.
Those lords are never going to give the contract to a woman.
They want someone who looks like them.
A man they can trust in.
And I don't know a more trustworthy man than...
I signed up.
You...?
Joe...
Is this because Mac...
I'm not daft, Emma.
I wouldn't risk leaving our children without a father
just to prove to you I'm as much of a man as he is.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared.
But how could I ever look them in the eye...
Kit and Edwina...
if I didn't do everything I could to protect them?
But...
I need you.
Sorry, Emma.
I didn't know.
You never have done before.
People worried the Boer War would last for years,
and look how quickly that ended.
Weren't there two Boer Wars?
Yes. Second one lasted for three years.
Still, I'm sure that this time next year
we'll all be back to our normal lives and everyone will be
so grateful to you for your bravery, Edwin.
Yes, I'm sure you'll be a huge asset on the battlefield,
what with all your experience wielding pens
and fannying about the newsroom.
I'm looking forward to the parades when it's over.
I expect there'll be some.
Yes, a parade. That should make all the death worth it.
What?
He's obviously not coming.
He is.
No.
He isn't.
Everyone's wondering where you are.
I thought you'd be too busy drinking champagne,
toasting the stupidest decision that Edwin's ever made.
Adam...
it's not too late to tell him how you feel.
I made that perfectly clear.
I don't want you to have any regrets.
They're poisonous.
- I wish I'd told Adele... - Yes.
Perhaps if you had, instead of whatever it was you said
that drove her back to the drink, she'd still be here.
Edwina, love.
Listen... Do you understand what Daddy's saying?
That I've got to go away for a little while?
- Can I come? - No, love.
Daddy's got an important job to do.
I'll be back before you know it.
For Christmas.
Yeah. For Christmas.
You should sleep.
You'll need it.
It's for their birthdays.
I've got up to Edwina's 16th,
which is...
impossible to imagine, isn't it?
Will you, um...
if I don't...
You will.
Edwin?
Yes.
I hope...
you find peace.
I know that's a strange thing to say, given...
But it seems to me as though that's what you're looking for.
That's what you've always been looking for.
You might be right about that.
But...
I'm not sure I deserve it.
I'm sorry.
I know you wanted this to be...
I never should have pretended I was capable of giving you
what you wanted.
You shouldn't wait for me.
Whatever happens, don't wait.
You deserve that heart-soaring love you've always dreamed of.
The kind you had with Emma?
- How...? - I found the letters.
Oh, God.
That's why I had her alter my dress.
I wanted to meet her.
I can see why she made your heart soar.
I'm sorry you lost her.
So am I.
Safe travels.
I love you.
You don't.
But that's OK.
It's never made me regret a second of it.
It's a privilege being your husband.
That's one that I won't let go of easily.
So you can be sure I will find my way back to you.
I told you, didn't I?
I'm no good at these.
It wasn't goodbye then and it isn't now.
Don't even say it.
Say, "See you soon," because you will.
You have to.
There's no me without you, Shane O'Neill.
Not since that first morning we met on the moors.
So don't go being the hero.
I know that'll be hard for you, but...
I need you back here.
See you soon, then, Emma.
All aboard!
No sense us being at war while they are.
Very generous of you.
Famous pacifist, aren't I?
Listen to this.
"Remember to drink your tea while it's still hot.
"You often set it aside and forget
"when you're lost in your work.
"I swap it for a fresh one before you notice.
"And I've left a shawl on the back of your chair.
"Use it.
"You always feel the cold
"when the evening draught creeps in."
He knows you pretty well.
What are we supposed to do without them?
We carry on.
You should stay.
Stay here.
Not just tonight, but until they come home.
Get each other through it.
But we won't be wallowing.
You've got your presentation.
I can't win without Joe.
They'll never take me seriously.
That's what a woman would say.
Now, a man... with all your achievements
and a proposal as good as yours,
he would go in there and act like he'd already won.
Adam...
She killed my son.
Who has?
Adam, Edwin's not dead. He's...
She'll pay.
I'll make sure that woman pays.
Who?
Emma Harte.
'Dearest Joe,
'I don't know when, or even if, this letter will reach you,
'but I have to try
'to tell you how sorry I am.
'Because you're right
'a marriage should be about two partners.
'And I regret more than anything
'that I never gave you the chance to be mine.
'I've been so proud, so stubborn,
'thinking I had to do it all on my own.
'But I didn't notice the sacrifices you made,
'the quiet strength you were offering,
'how you loved me, supported me and trusted me
'without asking for anything in return.
'It was unforgivable, deciding to sell the shops,
'so I've taken them off the market.
'Yes, we are in significant debt.
'But some things are more important than money.'
I'm the proud owner of two mills and a factory full of workers,
poised to begin sewing our soldiers' uniforms as soon...
immediately, subject to...
'I have every faith that I'll win the bid
'for the military uniform contract,
'just as I have every faith that you'll come home to me.
'And when you do, Joe,
'I'll be the partner you deserve.
'I promise you that.'
Gentlemen, our men
fathers, brothers, sons, husbands, including my own,
are out in the fields of France
fighting for King and country.
The least we can do is provide them with
the best possible uniforms to aid their path to victory
the most durable wool, the most functional designs.
And I am the person to make that happen.
I know I'm not the usual sort to stand before you.
As you've likely observed, I'm not a man.
But I ask you to pay attention not to who I am,
but to what I'm offering.
I am the proud owner of two mills
and a factory full of workers
poised to begin sewing our soldiers' uniforms immediately,
subject to your approval of my designs.
I've already begun producing the fabric needed
at my own cost.
I knew that inflation on the price of raw materials
would be coming, and fast,
so the day war was declared,
I secured the wool needed to make 16,000 uniforms
at a price of one shilling per pound.
If you were to buy that wool today,
you wouldn't be able to get it
for less than one shilling and threepence.
Tomorrow it will be higher.
And that's how I know that
not one of the men you've heard from so far
will be able to offer you a more competitive price
than I can.
Time is not a luxury we have, gentlemen.
The war has begun.
Pick me, and not only can I offer you
the highest quality at the lowest price,
but I can begin today.
I've had an idea.
And it's rather brilliant, if I do say so myself.
Oh, well, let's hear it.
You should join the VAD.
We can train together.
It'll be so much more fun if it's the two of us.
I really think you'd get something out of it.
- Well, I don't think so. - Why not?
Well, I don't think Adam would...
I mean, he needs me here, especially with Edwin gone.
And what about what you need?
Well, I...
I don't... I'm...
I'm fine.
Are you?
Yes.
What?
Nothing. It's just...
you seem to spend a lot of time worrying about Mr Fairley's needs,
but... he doesn't seem to give yours a second thought.
What a thing to say! That... That's not true.
Isn't it?
No, I...
Look, I know Adam can be...
But he's been through an awful lot.
I mean, he lost his wife.
And you lost your sister.
Yes, yes, I did. I lost her.
We both lost someone that we adored that day.
And it was my fault because I broke Adele's heart.
I betrayed her. I drove her back to the drink.
You broke her heart? All on your own?
And what about Mr Fairley?
I was the last person to speak to her.
No, you weren't.
I was.
No. It was... Mr Fairley.
I heard him, in Mrs Fairley's room, arguing,
saying the cruellest things, only a few hours before she...
Are you making this up?
No.
I swear.
Thank you so much, Lord Acton.
I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity.
- You're welcome. - You've got my details, haven't you?
If you have any further questions...
Charles!
Adam Fairley!
Charlie! Good to see you, old boy.
How long has it been?
How's that horse of yours running, huh?
I'm going to insist that you dine with us again soon.
I know Olivia's just dying to see Penny.
Now, regarding those uniforms,
I think we would be the perfect clients...
The contract's lost. I lost.
But it's OK.
There'll be a way, won't there?
Find a way to fix it. Fix everything.
And I haven't come up with a plan yet.
But I always do.
Who?
_
Mummy! Mummy!
Mummy, why are you crying?
I love you.
I love you, Edwina.
'No, I haven't heard from Edwina for a while.
'But I'll give her your regards.'
And watertight. Yes?
Bye. Goodbye.
Would you send Paula in, please?
No more secrets, Paula. Agreed?
No more secrets.
And I'd like you to contact the family, please.
I believe I'm going to have that birthday party after all.
Ask Jerry to make travel arrangements. The whole clan.
For this weekend.
This weekend? Before Monday?
That's right. My children can celebrate with me
en route to their famous meeting.
Let's make this an occasion to remember.
We're going home.
*CREDITS*